Olympic dreams to be a nurse

Nurse, doctor and Olympic athlete —Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti healthcare assistant and New Zealand junior Taekwondo champion Serita Karauria is busy, hard-working and ambitious. Picture supplied

Sixteen-year-old Serita Karauria is on a mission to become a nurse, while also having a tilt at representing New Zealand at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in Taekwondo.

“I will be old enough to compete at the event by then,” says the motivated Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe, Samoa, wahine toa, who also hopes to be a registered nurse by then.

Serita is on her career path to nursing by studying for a New Zealand Certificate in Health and Wellbeing through EIT Tairāwhiti.

At the same time, she is working at Gisborne Hospital as a support assistant.

Deputy Chief Nurse Roger Huntington says Serita and two others, Kea Gooding and Reese Haenga, are among the first support assistants to be employed at the hospital.

“It’s a way of helping shore up people who might want to take their study further.

“We rely heavily on our local EIT Tairāwhiti nursing programme and so it’s our way of funneling talent their way.”

Serita started in July and has worked in Wards 5, 8, and 9 under nurse guidance and loves the chance to help with patient care.

She hopes to begin the polytechnic’s Certificate in Study and Career Preparation in November and, after becoming a healthcare assistant, wants to continue her training to become a nurse.

She may even look at training to be a doctor.

“If I want to get there, then I need to start at the bottom and slowly work up to the top. This is the best way to do it,” she says.

Serita’s Olympic-sized ambition matches her passion for Korean martial art Taekwondo.

She is a black belt in the discipline, and this year took a step closer to chasing her Olympic dream by winning the junior female open black belt division at New Zealand’s premiere event the Kukkiwon Cup in Auckland.

The win has earned her a place at the 2024 World Taekwondo Championships to be held in Korea.

“If I’m not working at the hospital, I’m studying, and if I’m not studying, I’m training,” says Serita, who adds gym workouts and netball to her fitness regimen.

Mr Huntington says he won’t be surprised if Serita achieves both her sporting and career goals.

“She’s got the right attitude to go far.”